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Meteorite hits central Russia, more than 950 people hurt (Pictures on Page 3/4)

CHELYABINSK, Russia
(Reuters) - More than 500 people were injured when a meteorite shot
across the sky and exploded over central Russia on Friday, sending
fireballs crashing to Earth, shattering windows and damaging buildings.

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like
an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave according to a
Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east
of Moscow.

A fireball blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white
trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away
in Yekaterinburg. Car alarms went off, windows shattered and mobile
phone networks were interrupted.

"I was driving to work, it was quite dark, but it suddenly
became as bright as if it was day," said Viktor Prokofiev, 36, a
resident of Yekaterinburg in the Urals Mountains.

"I felt like I was blinded by headlights," he said.

No fatalities were reported but President Vladimir Putin, who
was due to host Finance Ministry officials from the Group of 20 nations
in Moscow, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were informed.

A local ministry official said such incidents were extremely
rare and Friday's events might have been linked to an asteroid the size
of an Olympic swimming pool due to pass Earth at a distance of 27,520 km
(17,100 miles) but this was not confirmed.

Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the meteorite was
travelling at a speed of 30 km (19 miles) per second and that such
events were hard to predict. The Interior Ministry said the meteorite
explosion had caused a sonic boom.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said 514 people had sought
medical help, mainly for light injuries caused by flying glass, and that
112 of those were kept in hospital. Search groups were set up to look
for the remains of the meteorite.

"There have never been any cases of meteorites breaking up at
such a low level over Russia before," said Yuri Burenko, head of the
Chelyabinsk branch of the Emergencies Ministry.

WINDOWS BREAK, FRAMES BUCKLE

Windows were shattered on Chelyabinsk's central Lenin Street and some of the frames of shop fronts buckled.

A loud noise, resembling an explosion, rang out at around 9.20
a.m. (12:20 a.m. ET). The shockwave could be felt in apartment
buildings in the industrial city's center.

"I was standing at a bus stop, seeing off my girlfriend," said
Andrei, a local resident who did not give his second name. "Then there
was a flash and I saw a trail of smoke across the sky and felt a
shockwave that smashed windows."

A wall was damaged at the Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant but a spokeswoman said there was no environmental threat.

Although such events are rare, a meteorite is thought to have
devastated an area of more than 2,000 sq km (1,250 miles) in Siberia in
1908, smashing windows as far as 200 km (125 miles) from the point of
impact.

The Emergencies Ministry described Friday's events as a
"meteor shower in the form of fireballs" and said background radiation
levels were normal. It urged residents not to panic.

Chelyabinsk city authorities urged people to stay indoors
unless they needed to pick up their children from schools and
kindergartens. They said what sounded like a blast had been heard at an
altitude of 10,000 meters (32,800 feet).

The U.S. space agency NASA has said an asteroid known as 2012
DA14, about 46 meters in diameter, would have an encounter with Earth
closer than any asteroid since scientists began routinely monitoring
them about 15 years ago.

Television, weather and communications satellites fly about 500 miles higher. The moon is 14 times farther away.

(Additional reporting by Natalia Shurmina in Yekaterinburg and
Gabriela Baczynska in Moscow, Writing by Alexei Anishchuk and Timothy
Heritage, Editing by Michael Holden)

Yeah. Kind of an unreal event. I saw a video first and thought, "Wow. That looks cool" Then when I realized so many people were hurt (Though the number is uncomfirmed so hopefully it is less) it took me a few moments to let it sink in.

Because you really don't expect people to lose their lives or end up injured by a meteorite.

Quoting Veni.Vidi.Vici.:

When I was reading that last night I couldn't believe it. I'm still kind of in shock. How scary for all of those people. I can't imagine their horror.

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